Dravid cleared

NEW DELHI AFP: India’s cricket board has cleared batting great Rahul Dravid of conflict of interest charges after he was made head of the national cricket academy while working for a company that owns an Indian Premier League team.

The complaint against Dravid followed similar allegations against record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar and former India captain Sourav Ganguly as authorities attempt to root out corruption in India’s powerful cricket establishment.

Last month Dravid was named as director of the National Cricket Academy, a breeding ground for young talent, while remaining as a vice-president of India Cements, which owns IPL franchise the Chennai Super Kings.

“He has got a notice and we have cleared his appointment. We had seen no conflict, but if the Ombudsman finds any conflict, we will give our response to the Ombudsman stating why we found no conflict.”

The case against Dravid was brought by Sanjeev Gupta, a state association member of the BCCI. The Indian board is being run by a Supreme Court-appointed panel tasked with clearing out corruption from the world’s wealthiest cricket body after a series of scandals.